


Space They Cannot Touch

by faithinthepoor



Series: Firefly [2]
Category: Firefly
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-06
Updated: 2013-01-06
Packaged: 2017-11-23 21:20:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/626647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faithinthepoor/pseuds/faithinthepoor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during the Train Job</p>
            </blockquote>





	Space They Cannot Touch

**Author's Note:**

> In my series this follows [Event Horizons](http://archiveofourown.org/works/626636)

As shapely legs gracefully descend the ladder she chastises herself for not locking her berth and, realizing that she has nowhere to run, attempts to feign sleep. She manages to control her breathing but wishes she’d had time to roll over as she knows that she is scrunching her eyes too tightly for anyone to be convinced that she is in a peaceful slumber. The intruder lets out a sigh but seems willing to play along with her, silently travelling the short distance to her bunk and even going so far as to ask her if she’s awake. When she doesn’t respond the other loses patience for the little game they are playing.

“I know you’re avoiding me but the ship is only so big, you will have to talk to me at some point.”

She replies in a voice that they both know displays no trace of drowsiness, “I am trying to rest.”

“I doubt that either of us will get any sleep any time in the near future if we don’t talk about whatever it is that is bothering you.”

“It ain’t a good time ‘Nara. We have to be thinking about the Captain and Zoe. We need to be alert. We can talk when things are all quiet like.”

“Kaylee, this is Serenity, there is never going to be a quiet time,” the reply comes with a resigned chuckle and Inara makes her position clear by sitting on the edge of the bed, forcing Kaylee to move to accommodate her in the limited space. She finds herself curled on her side, her body arched to curve perfectly around Inara’s seated form while Inara watches her face intently, “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

That is not question that she wishes to answer. Instead she picks at the edge of Inara’s silky robe, “You shouldn’t sit here. You could get all greasy. You need to look fancy like for the rescue mission.” She fails to mention that even coated in grease Inara would still be the most beautiful and charming woman that anyone on that planet is ever likely to see.

Inara ignores her words and actually reaches over to stroke her dirty face with her thumb, “I’ll be careful and I will bring them back.”

“What if they get you too?”

“Then you could run the ship and fly off with your handsome young doctor so long as he can keep Jayne unconscious.”

She allows herself to smile, “I’d be able to get me a converter coil, maybe even two, and things would be all peaceful with Jayne doped but it wouldn’t be the same, I’d miss the capers and your stories and Wash would miss Zoe awful bad.”

“They’re okay, I’m sure of it, and I will be too.”

“You should have back up it ain’t safe for you to be going in alone.”

“It’ll all be okay.”

“You can’t know that,” she squirms and tries to get herself away from the well-manicured fingers that are currently stoking her hair, “bad things happen.”

Inara tries to still her and she winces in pain as a restraining arm comes in contact with her abdomen. The Companion’s perfect composure falters and her eyes go dark as her hand hovers over the site of the recent injury, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking, so it still hurts?”

“Not so much now, it kinda smarts if ya touch it though and it gets mighty itchy sometimes but it don’t look too bad,” she pulls her overalls to the side to show the area of flesh, it is pale and raised but has knitted together well, “It probably won’t even scar much.”

“Simon did a good job, he must like you,” she teases.

“I’m guessing he didn’t have a whole lotta choice.”

“We may have put the fear of God into him, you gave us quite a scare.”

“Didn’t mean ta and I’m sorry everybody got so mad.”

“We were just worried, we care about you. You must have been so frightened.”

“I don’t remember so much, I know there was pain and everyone was shouting and then it gets sorta fuzzy until I woke up and everything was okay again,” that’s not entirely true but at least it’s less than a lie. At the time of the shooting, the pain seemed to shut down her mind, she remembers lots of yelling and movement, people were crowding her and yet they seemed too far away for her to touch. The only thing she recalls clearly is Simon asking her to dance and being pleased but confused. Inara’s presence enveloped her, she couldn’t really see her but her nostrils feasted on the familiar scent and her calm voice seemed to rain comfort from the sky. She had the definite feeling that the wrong person was asking her to dance. She has hazy memories of being in the infirmary and isn’t sure that they are real. It was like she was floating but sinking, flying and falling, her body seemed too heavy and yet too light. Her dreams bled into both one another and into her waking moments. For the most part she is prepared to accept that that time is lost and that there is no need to sift through the fragments to sort out the moments that were reality but there are a few things that happened, or maybe that didn’t, that she needs to address. These things mainly relate to Inara. She knows Inara was there often, if not constantly, watching, praying and offering support and that might be all it was, maybe the filter of pain and analgesia has distorted the events, made them seem more important, but it did feel like Inara was trying to offer more than just comfort and concern.

“That’s probably for the best.”

“I do remember being you being there, you were there a lot.”

For the second time since their conversation began Inara’s control seems somewhat less than impeccable and she hesitates before speaking, “I go where I’m needed and you’re okay now, that’s what really matters. This isn’t what you are upset about though, are we going to talk about what’s bothering you?”

“What makes you so sure that this ain’t the problem?”

“We’ve talked since then and you’ve been fine. You were fine until after we were in my shuttle brushing your hair, did I do something wrong or was it just that I got you in trouble with Mal because I was holding his mechanic enthralled?”

“No, I had fun and the Captain was just being the Captain.”

“Then what’s the matter?”

She gets the distinct feeling that it just may well be now or never but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s so nervous that she’s at risk of vomiting or that it would not be just a figure of speech to say that her body was trembling with anticipation, “When I left your shuttle I heard you and the Captain talking.”

“Bao bay we argue all the time there is nothing for you to worry about.”

“It’s not that, he asked you if you were servicing the crew.”

“I’m not and I would never do that, you don’t need to get offended for me.”

They are just words but they strike like a physical blow, not so long ago she would have described the sensation as feeling like being shot in the gut but now that she’s had the dubious honour of experiencing that first hand she knows that it’s different – it’s both more and yet less painful than what she’s currently experiencing. “Oh, so if I was to ask, the answer would be no?”

“Kaylee you could never be my client.”

She now has a fair idea of what it feels like to be shot multiple times but she doubts that Simon’s skills will be able to heal these wounds, “Oh, okay, I won’t ask then.”

“You don’t understand, you are far too important to me to be a client.”

“I am?”

“Of course you are,” Inara’s hands slip from her hair and travel lightly across her shoulders.

“I probably couldn’t afford ya anyway.”

Inara smiles warmly at her, “You have no idea just how precious you are.”

She goes to reply but finds that her lips are too busy kissing Inara’s. The kiss is brief but promise laden and when it’s over Inara pulls her up and in order to keep herself from falling she shifts so that her legs form a bridge across Inara’s lap. “If I say that I don’t think I’m worth very much will there be more kissing?”

Inara ruffles her hair in a gesture that is confusing in its sisterly nature, “You can try.”

“Well that’s better than a no,” she leans over and captures soft lips and Inara does nothing to protest. Her lips feel numb when they eventually come up for air so she rests her forehead against Inara’s, “You had so better come back to me.”

“I was always coming back dear one but I need to know that you are ready for what your asking.”

“I ain’t a virgin ‘Nara and I ain’t squeamish bout being with a girl neither.”

Inara lets out a most un-Inaralike snort and doesn’t even bother to apologise, “Well that’s nice to know,” she dusts kisses across Kaylee’s forehead before adding, “but I meant that my work can make things difficult.”

“I’d be pleasure not business though, right?”

“Of course you would.”

“And you won’t be servicing anyone else in the crew, professionally or otherwise.”

“No.”

“Not even the Captain.”

“No.”

“Shiny.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy but if you are willing to try, I am willing to live with fact that I am not the number one girl in your life.”

“You’re the only girl in my life. Zoe is married and kinda scary and River, well River is just scary, there’s no-one else.”

“There’s her,” she replies tapping on the bulkhead.

“I do love my girl,” she runs her hand down the wall affectionately, “but that’s different to how I feel about you.”

“I won’t ever be able to compete,” Irana’s faux irony is somehow tinged with regret.

“Serenity’s a good girl, she listens to me and she brought me you.”

“So I guess I should be thanking her.”

“I’ll be sure and pass on anything ya have to tell her.”

“I’ll keep that in mind but I right now I really have to get going, someone has to clean up the mess that you made playing bandits.”

She watches Inara rise before signalling her protest, “There should be kissing at least.” Inara complies and then hugs her tightly. Kaylee clings to her and whispers, “be safe,” before finally relinquishing her hold.

Inara seems torn and slowly traces her fingers over Kaylee’s lips before she leaves, exiting as gracefully as she entered although she does pause briefly at the top of the ladder to declare, “Wo ai ni.”

She lies back down on her bunk as she comes to the realisation that waiting for Inara is something that she is going to have to grow used to and hopes that it’s not always going to be this uncomfortable. She does manage to stand with the others and say goodbye to Inara like nothing has happened and this wins her the most amazing smile in return. The kind of smile she could feed off for weeks and one that makes her feel a whole lot better about the fact that Inara looks so ravishing while going off to rescue the Captain. Still, waiting for her is a harder than she would like it to be, in Inara’s absence thousands of disaster scenarios roam through her head but in the end the shuttle returns unscathed. Her heart feels like it will explode through her chest as she waits for it to dock. Inara emerges looking radiant and she has to fight the temptation to run into her arms, they have appearances to keep up so she settles for telling Inara that she’s missed her, loves her and is glad she’s safe, “Hey. How’d it go,” may not be poetry but it’s heartfelt and comes with a meaningful glance and she’s sure Inara gets the message. 

Life intervenes quickly and brutally but it does come with tales of Inara slapping the Captain and with Inara pulling her to safety. While they cower behind the crates Inara grabs her hand and somehow it’s the most romantic thing that has ever happened to her. They may not have the most conventional relationship in the verse, there is very little that happens on Serenity that could be described as conventional, but in the chaos they have each other and that’s more than she ever dreamed would be possible.


End file.
